Feminist Theory

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/glossary/Feminist_criticism.html University of Toronto: feminist Theoryhttp://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm#feminism Mount Mary College: Feminist Theoryhttp://www.iep.utm.edu/literary/#H8 Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Gender Studieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_literary_criticism Wikipedia: Feminist literary criticism Example Essay: “Too Beautiful Altogether Patriarchal Ideology in Heart of Darkness” by Johanna M. SmithWhat men have said so far, for the most part, stems from . . . the power relation between a fantasized obligatory virility meant to invade, to colonize, and the consequential phantasm of woman as a "dark continent" to penetrate and to pacify. (Helene Cixous, "The Laugh of the Medusa") A story about manly adventure narrated and written by a man, Heart of Darkness might seem an unpropitious subject for feminist criticism. As my epigraph suggests, however, a feminist approach to Conrad's story of colonizing can interrogate its complex interrelation of patriarchal and imperialist ideologies. By examining the women in Marlow's narrative, we can identify the patriarchal-imperialist blend that requires the kinds of women he creates. To do so is to engage in a feminist critique of ideology, for, as Myra Jehlen puts it, "Feminist thinking is really rethinking, an examination of the way certain assumptions about women and the female character enter into the fundamental assumptions that organize all our thinking." Such rethinking about Heart of Darkness reveals the collusion of imperialism and patriarchy: Marlow's narrative aims too "colonize" and "pacify" both savage darkness and women. Silencing the native laundress and symbolizing the equally silent savage woman and the Company women, Marlow protects himself from his experience of the darkness they stand for. The two speaking women he creates, his aunt and the Intended, perform a similar function. As we will see later, Marlow, by restricting unsatisfactory versions of imperialist ideology to them, is able to create his own version, a belief to keep the darkness at bay. --From "Too Beautiful Altogether: Patriarchal Ideology in Heart of Darkness" by Johanna M. Smith Questions to answer in your Congo diary: 1. When and where did the feminist movement begin? 2. Who are some famous feminists? List three historical examples. 3. In a general sense, what is the goal of feminist criticism? 4. What three crucial strategies do feminist critics use to achieve this goal? 5. What questions might a feminist critic ask when reading a text? 6. As a feminist critic, what might you look for in Heart of Darkness? 7. What do you think are the strengths of this approach? The weaknesses?